Dr Gillian McKeith's Living Food for Health: 12 Natural Superfoods to Transform Your Health [Paperback]

The extract I pasted below is from an interview of Gillian McKeith in The Times ; it was published on May 9th 2000. I think this extract is a better synopsis of the book than what was written by Amazon staff.

"Another champion of more raw or living food in your diet is the respected American-trained and London-based nutritionist Dr Gillian McKeith, who draws on many disciplines, including Chinese medicine, in her work. She encourages people to increase the amount of raw food in their diet but argues that you have to find the right balance. The author of a new book called Dr Gillian McKeith's Living Food For Health, which shows how to achieve that balance, she believes that for many people in this country a 100 per cent raw diet is not a healthy option: "It is fine in the summer, but it will only make most people even more miserable in the winter."

The solution, she says, is to mix warmed food with raw foods. A perfect example is her own breakfast, which might be a warmed apple and pear purée with raw raspberries, which support the kidneys, scattered through it. If you want soup you can have it, she says. You will destroy the live enzymes in the vegetables you cook, but you can put them back by sprinkling the soup with raw broccoli and sprouted seeds.

Sprouts - the seeds of foods such as mung beans, aduki beans, alfalfa, radish, rye and millet - are all packed with live enzymes and energy-giving nutrients. According to Dr McKeith, when the US military commissioned food scientists to come up with a protein alternative to meat and dairy products during the Second World War, sprouts were voted the best substitute.

She says: "The secret is to place the hot or warmed food on top of the cold dish so that the heat filters down. For example, cook your rice and place it on top of the raw vegetables. Also, find out which herbs, such as basil and parsley, have a warming action on the body and include those in your diet."

The Government's Food Standards Agency recommends at least five portions of fruit and vegetables in your diet every day. It does not take a stand on the raw versus cooked debate but it does acknowledge that most people find it hard to meet even these minimum targets.

The Fresh Network's guidelines for stepping up the raw food content of a normal diet, especially during the transitional process from cooked to raw foods, include: Eating side salads with every main course, hot or cold. Eating fruit for breakfast instead of cereals or bacon and eggs. Eating fruit, nuts and seeds whenever you want a between-meals snack. Getting into the habit of juicing raw fruits and vegetables. For example, it takes about 16 medium carrots to make half a tumbler of carrot juice - evidence that juicing really is a good way to increase the raw food content of your diet without giving yourself an aching jaw. Remind yourself that you are improving your eating habits and not going on a diet. Eating more raw food is not about penance.

Dr McKeith recommends mixing warmed with cold, raw food, especially in the winter. She says we need to aim for two portions (a portion is the equivalent of a tea cup) of sprouted seeds every day to benefit from the live enzymes that will help with digestion."

After following the plan for a few weeks I had lost nearly a stone in weight and had so much energy. This happened so easily that I didn't link it with the book and let the good habits slip, only to end up crawling out of bed in the morning and tipping the scales over again, so remember: Keep it up!!